A question of fairness in Egypt

April 22, 2015 - Daily News Briefing

The contrasting treatment of Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Morsi raises questions about Egyptian justice.

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An Egyptian criminal court on Tuesday sentenced ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi to 20 years in prison on charges linked to the killing of protesters in 2012, the first verdict to be issued against the country's first freely elected leader. The conviction, which can be appealed, and muted Islamist reaction following it underscore the dramatic downfall of Morsi and Egypt's once-powerful Muslim Brotherhood group. However, Morsi escaped receiving a death sentence in the case, which Islamists derided as a "farce."

A 93-year-old former bookkeeper at Auschwitz who is accused of being an accessory to mass murder told a German court that he felt morally guilty for his work at the Nazi death camp, describing in detail the grisly killings he had witnessed there. Oskar Groening, in what could be one of the last big Holocaust trials, is accused of assisting in the murder of 300,000 people although he did not kill anyone himself.

Robert Bates, the volunteer sheriff's deputy who killed an unarmed suspect in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on April 2, says he accidentally fired his handgun when he meant to deploy his stun gun. Bates apologized for killing Eric Harris last week but described his deadly mistake as a common problem in law enforcement, saying: "This has happened a number of times around the country. ... You must believe me, it can happen to anyone."

The humpback whale became the unofficial symbol for the conservation movement in the last century. The iconic whale that can be found across the planet was on the verge of extinction. The international community banned whaling the species in 1966, and the U.S. government put it on the endangered species list four years later. On Monday, federal officials said removing most of the world's humpback whales from the endangered species list, noting that the massive mammals have rebounded after 45 years of protection and restoration efforts, is a national success story. The agency is proposing dividing up the population of humpback whales into 14 separate categories, and fisheries managers say 10 of those should be removed from the endangered list. Two will remain listed as threatened, and two others will be listed as endangered.

Pope Francis accepted the resignation Tuesday of a U.S. bishop who pleaded guilty to failing to report a suspected child abuser, answering calls by victims to take action against bishops who cover up for pedophile priests. Bishop Robert Finn, who led the Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph in Missouri for nearly 10 years, resigned under canon law that allows bishops to resign early for illness or some "grave" reason that makes them unfit for office. But his resignation did not provide a specific reason.

Google changed the way its influential search engine recommends websites on smartphones and tablets in a shift that's expected to sway where millions of people shop, eat, and find information. The revised formula, released Tuesday, favors websites that Google defines as "mobile-friendly." Websites that don't fit the description will be demoted in Google's search results on smartphones and tablets while those meeting the criteria will be more likely to appear at the top of the rankings — a prized position that can translate into more visitors and money.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

To send a comment to the Editor, email editor@csmonitor.com.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

To send a comment to the Editor, email editor@csmonitor.com.

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